Up until now, other than the video series, most of the content that I have added has been articles that I have written in the previous years that I have updated to post here. The reason I did that is because I wanted to get as much content up as quickly as possible to provide value to everyone who found their way to the website so that you would have a wealth of material to choose from. Having passed the 100 page milestone, I feel like I can breathe a bit and start focusing this new year on creating new content just for the site based on where I am now in my own journey of self-awareness.

The development of this project has really made me look at several areas of my life and realize that if I am going to create the kind of community that I have talked about on the site of people coming together to support each other on the journey of personal development and self-awareness, that I am going to have to raise my own standards in several areas. So as we progress, I will continue to release content that I have created in the past, but also share what is happening in my own life as I immerse myself in new studies and experiences in this new year.

One of the things I learned on this journey is that if you want to truly learn something… teach others. That may sound backwards to many people, but for me, it has always worked well. If I begin teaching people things I already know, then I immerse myself in new material so I can continue to expand my own knowledge, and ultimately share more of that knowledge with those I am teaching. I think my passion for sharing things with others is also fueled by a sense of a public commitment that has been made when I am telling people how much I personally love to learn. It helps me hold myself to a higher standard if that makes sense.

I really experienced this for the first time about 10 years ago when I became involved in as a part of the leadership team of a group called The 7th Power. This was a group of people who had met each other while attending different seminars and workshops who then decided that one of the best things we could do to maintain momentum on our journey of personal development; was to meet regularly as a way of supporting each other, sharing new ideas and experiences as we continued exploring more pathways to awareness and reaching out to our community to contribute however we could to give something back to others because we felt so blessed. The group met regularly for about 6 years and grew from a monthly meeting with 10-12 people to where we would regularly have over 50 people at the monthly meeting. In that time we also started several different kinds of events (book discussions, miracle shares, workshops, charitable events) where smaller groups would meet each month.

In my time working with the leadership team of The 7th Power, I saw not only my own life, but the lives of everyone involved in leadership change dramatically. I believe that there were many reasons for that. The fact that we had created a support group for each other allowed each of us to explore and experience things that may have taken us years on our own. And the diverse knowledge of each individual allowed us to be exposed to things we may never have otherwise even known existed. We also held each other to higher standards and supported each other by holding each other accountable when someone made a commitment. And personally, I just felt inspired to learn more and become more so I could be a part of helping everyone else reach their fullest potential.

I know that it is safe to say, having maintained these friendships for going on 12 years now, that the period of our lives when we were active with The 7th Power led to quantum leaps in everyone's journey of personal development and self-awareness. As I head into 2010 I have to say that I am truly excited about the coming year because I foresee that same kind of growth coming for me again, and hopefully it will happen for others who have been getting involved with the videos and forums.

I've already noticed since we began releasing the SA 101 videos on YouTube in June that the desire to feed my own mind and spirit has really become intense again. Just from the feedback and questions that I have been getting, I have realized how much I desire to raise my own standards. Jerry also continues to push me to the edge of my comfort zone with the videos we shoot together, and I look for more and better ways to share what I have learned with you here.

I'm not big on New Year's Resolutions, but I do believe that as the new year begins it is a great time to look back over the past year, focusing on the growth I've had, and looking at where I want to go to in this new year.

As I was looking back over the past 12 months, as with everyone, there have been both high and low points. Here are just a few that come to mind.

My 83 yr old mother had surgery #8 on her left knee. This was her 8th surgery on that knee in 3 years.

We decided that it was time to let go of her property in PA which was hard for us both. She lived there for almost 80 years and it was where I was also born and raised.

I took my daughter to CA for the first time and had an amazing experience staying at a new friend's home. (They're now more than friends, they are family)

Jerry and I started filming the SA 101 series in Jan

I made the decision to end a business venture around a software that I had created that I had invested about 4 years and over $40,000 dollars in.

We released the first SA 101 video on YouTube on Jun 18th.

Combined views between YouTube, Facebook, MySpace and our own website have surpassed 61,000 views as of Jan 1, 2010.

Between our 5 YouTube channels we have over 6,000 subscribers.

I have over 18,000 Twitter followers on combined accounts.

I celebrated 20 years since my last drink or drug in August.

I celebrated 19 years since my last cigarette this month.

My daughter was accepted at 5 out of 6 colleges that she applied to. (The 6th application is still being considered)

I started dating again after close to 2 years of being single and not really interested in relationships.

I learned that I had a form of gum disease that led to having 2 teeth pulled and have been told that I will need to have more pulled.

I've developed a problem with my right foot where it is constantly feeling like there is pressure and pain.

As I look forward to 2010, I have decided that in this new year there are several areas where I will be focusing on raising my standards . In general I am committing to improving my health, increasing my financial abundance, exploring more in the realm of relationships, expanding my speaking business, writing and recording more music, creating new video projects beyond SA 101, becoming a better son, adjusting to being the father of a maturing young woman and expanding the website in this new year to include more content and contributions from others who have tremendous value to offer.

I realize that I were to attempt taking on all these areas at once in this new year, it will lead to serious overwhelm, so I will be focusing on one or two areas at a time. As I do, I will share with you my progress, what I learn and the mistakes I make along the way.

As of this writing, I have not yet chosen what the initial categories for improvement will be, but will be making a decision soon as to which areas will be my initial focus.

I thank you for the support you given me so far in the creation of this project, and I look forward to what is to come for us all in this new year.